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Toronto and Miami Beach use bike share to solve traffic woes

Weather-wise, there probably aren't too many North American cities more different than Toronto and Miami Beach. But they both suffer the same problems with traffic congestion.

This spring, both cities are trying to tackle that problem with bike-sharing systems designed to encourage people to use bicycles, instead of cars, for short errands and commuting.

Miami Beach launched its bike-share program this week that makes 200 lime-green beach cruiser-style bicycles available to the public. It expects the program to grow to 1,000 bicycles available at 100 solar-powered stations by the end of the summer.

Toronto, on the other hand, is launching its bike-sharing system ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/03/19/toronto-and-miami-beach-use-bike-share-to-solve-traffic-woes/

Riders' Collective: cycling-related writing and photos in a green format

My early years as a writer were all in print media, so it's a thrill to see one of my blog stories appear in the March issue of the magazine Riders' Collective.

Actually, Riders' Collective is a web-based publication; an e-zine. But publisher Paul Kramer gives the stories inside such a full-blown print magazine treatment with snappy graphics, large photos and stylish fonts that you can imagine it's something sitting out on a coffee table.

And Kramer does it all without felling one tree.

Kramer has coined the term “aggrezine” to describe his publication. That word is protected by a trademark.

Essentially, he scours the Internet for a wide variety of web stories ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/03/18/riders-collective-cycling-related-writing-and-photos-in-a-green-format/

The woman who out-pedaled a tsunami on her bicycle

Into every tragedy a few nuggets of positive news often appear. Tsuna Kimura is one of those nuggets from last week's earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan.

CNN found the 83-year-old woman in a shelter in the town of Hachinohe, one of the coastal cities partially swept away by the tsunami that followed the 9.0 earthquake.

The life-long rice farmer lived alone in a house, now flooded, when the earthquake and tsunami hit. She told CNN …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/03/18/the-woman-who-out-pedaled-a-tsunami-on-her-bicycle/

Tour de Fat jilts Seattle and Portland; 13 cities on tap in 2011

The Tour de Fat's long-running costumed celebration of bikes and beer won't be rousing the inner-cyclist of Seattle and Portland this year.

New Belgium Brewery's popular traveling bicycle-beer fest is bypassing the Pacific Northwest's two great bicycling cities to add Durham, NC, and Nashville, TN, to its 13-city nationwide tour (full list and dates below).

The news will be a disappointment to the 4,000-some bike lovers in Seattle and the smaller crowd of 1,750 in Portland last year who rode in the bike parade, and enjoyed the entertainers, beer and goofy bikes that made the show special.

As a fund-raiser to local bicycle-oriented nonprofits, the loss the Tour de Fat in Seattle and Portland also will affect the bottom line at local bike charities ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/03/17/tour-de-fat-jilts-seattle-and-portland-13-cities-on-tap-in-2011/

Cleaner and more visible with Rainy Day Biking mud flaps

Seattle cyclist Don Cox has developed a product that every wet weather Pacific Northwest cyclist can appreciate. Mud flaps.

That's not real sexy, but very useful in a region that averages 140 days of “measureable precipitation” every year.

I was introduced to Don Cox and his RainyDayBiking mud flaps on one of those days that exhibited an extreme amount of “measureable precipitation.”

When I biked through the rain to the Seattle Bike Expo on Saturday, I was soaked from head to toe. As I dripped across the lobby and followed the crowds upstairs, his RainyDayBiking booth was the first I noticed. Given the name, I reckoned this guy might have something I'd be interested in. ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/03/16/cleaner-and-more-visible-with-rainy-day-biking-mud-flaps/

Bike Wrappers are a “lightsaber for your bike”

A San Francisco cyclist has developed a way to attach reflective fabric to a bicycle that turns the entire bike frame into a giant reflector for riding at night.

When I spoke with Brent Thomas (left) at the Seattle Bicycle Expo on Saturday, the former Internet marketer says he has a lot of ideas in his head. I'd say that Bike Wrappers is probably his best.

The easily attachable fabric makes your bicycle highly reflective at night from all directions (see the video below).

“I commute. I ride at night. I've been hit by cars. I got to thinking that there are lights and reflectors for the front and rear, but there's nothing that makes the bike visible from the side.” …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/03/15/bike-wrappers-are-a-lightsaber-for-your-bike/

David Herlihy researching tragic life of cyclist Octave Lapize

Bicycling historian David Herlihy isn't resting on his well-earned laurels after completing his books “Bicycle: The History” and “The Lost Cyclist: The Epic Tale of an American Adventurer and His Mysterious Disappearance.”

When I talked with him at the Seattle Bike Expo on Saturday, Herlihy said he's been working on another book. This one is about French cyclist Octave Lapize, one of the early winners of the Tour de France.

“Lapize was the best all around cyclist of that pre-war era. It will be his story and his generation of cyclists.”

All three winners of the Tour de France during that four-year period — 1907 to 1910 — met tragic ends; they were killed in World War I as members of the French Army ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/03/14/david-herlihy-researching-tragic-life-of-cyclist-octave-lapize/

2011 Seattle Bike Expo offers something for everyone

Dripping and soaked from head to foot as I entered the 2011 Seattle Bike Expo on Saturday, the first booth I saw displayed the name Rainy Day Biking.

The name spoke to me, as I had just finished an hour-and-a-half bike ride from Bellevue to the Smith Cove Terminal in the pouring rain.

I spoke to exhibitor Don Cox about his product — a high visibility reflective mud flap that also helps keep the water out of your shoes — and bought a set of front and rear flaps that read: “Save the Planet. Ride a Bike.”

The Seattle Bike Expo, which wraps up on Sunday, is that kind of a bike show….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/03/13/2011-seattle-bike-expo-offers-something-for-everyone/

Low clearance on Lake Washington bike trail

Keep your head down on the Lake Washington bike trail between Newcastle and Renton this weekend.

A huge branch fell across the trail this past week when high winds, gusting to 40 to 50 mph, swept across the Puget Sound region.

The trail runs adjacent to Interstate 405 and is part of the eastside's link on the bicycle loop around Lake Washington….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/03/12/low-clearance-on-lake-washington-bike-trail/

2011 Seattle Bicycle Expo stays fresh this weekend

The Seattle Bicycle Expo rolls out at the Smith Cove Cruise Terminal on Saturday and Sunday with some new speakers and exhibits, as well as some favorites from previous years.

The familiar includes a return of last year's artistic cyclist performers Corrina Hein riding solo and Stefan Musu and Lukas Matla riding as a duo (see video at left). World class bike stunt performer Ryan Leech also will perform.

Also many of the scores of exhibitors and retail booths will return this year to peddle their wares and inform about upcoming bike rides and tours. 

But the Expo organizers at the Cascade Bicycle Club are offering a full slate of new presentations and exhibits to keep things fresh this year ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/03/12/2011-seattle-bicycle-expo-stays-fresh-this-weekend/